Soloing
Last edited by TexasK on Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
" ...... every day I'm more and more dismayed by the sheer numbers of idiots in this country. I dream of running off into what remains of our wild spaces and .......... "
- Sandy
- Sandy
as climbers everything we do within our sport revolves around being selfish. whether it be fighting for the right to climb, taking off a day of work to climb, buying that new piece of gear. they are all acts of selfishness and are for our own personal satisfaction and personal glory. what about hard aid, climbing in the mtns(everest, K2, leading r/x routes in eldo, or doing crazy highballs. get a grip people we are involved in a dangerous sport. to call someone selfish and stupid for soloing is pretty hypocritical in my book(i am not saying you are Artsay, i have nothing but good things to say about you, you are an amazing person and climber). we all have different monsters to feed and we are all selfish in our own ways. to each his own and enjoy the day.
Of course more people die cleaning anchors and lowering from routes because the vast majority of climbers use a rope. I have nothing against fee soloing. I just think it's a personal thing and should be done without spectators.People get killed far more by other kinds of climbing issues. So, please, no one ever clean anchors or rap in front of me. If you do, I swear I will leave the crag.
If the majority of climbers were free soloist, rock climbing would probably be illegal in most states.
You people need to chill. Why's everyone always pissing about the ways someone enjoy's their life? If it's not bringing a dog to the crag, it's something you heardsome 14 year old said sometime, or the way some people spend their time climbing. Maybe I spent too long in tech support but the tolerance I have for bitching is getting pretty low and too many people around here have their panties in a bunch too often.
It's Friday. Go home, have a beer, take a hong bit and relax. Go out, get a lapdance or hook up with some random dude and have a good time. Consider yourselves lucky you have more to look forward to this weekend than your fantasy football league.
It's Friday. Go home, have a beer, take a hong bit and relax. Go out, get a lapdance or hook up with some random dude and have a good time. Consider yourselves lucky you have more to look forward to this weekend than your fantasy football league.
climbhigh - Thanks for making me feel all good with your kind words and all but I still think soloing is a very selfish thing to do because it automatically makes others around you responsible for your error, if one were to happen. Sure, climbing is a selfish sport, I agree with that. But if you buy too much gear or bail out on your friends to climb no one gets hurt.
If you were to have fallen accidentally with Merrick and split your head open, he would've had to deal with that horrible situation and lived with the memory. If that were to have happened and you actually made it to the hospital and lived, upon waking and seeing Merrick and realizing what had happened I guarantee you would apologize for putting him through that.
Just my opinion, of course.
If you were to have fallen accidentally with Merrick and split your head open, he would've had to deal with that horrible situation and lived with the memory. If that were to have happened and you actually made it to the hospital and lived, upon waking and seeing Merrick and realizing what had happened I guarantee you would apologize for putting him through that.
Just my opinion, of course.
Does he have a strange bear claw like appendage protruding from his neck? He kep petting it.
Last edited by TexasK on Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
" ...... every day I'm more and more dismayed by the sheer numbers of idiots in this country. I dream of running off into what remains of our wild spaces and .......... "
- Sandy
- Sandy
I dont free solo anything these days because of i have family to be around for. i have soloed many routes in my younger days. I always did it with very few people around. When i lived in colorado i had no real partner, so i would go to eldo and solo long moderate routes. It was very gratifying to be a few hundred feet of the deck with no rope. I have also soloed a number of routes in the red.
1) You aren't soloing if there are other people around. Pick a remote crag, get up early, whatever. It's rude to solo where other people's day of climbing would be screwed up if you blow it. (As an extension - I've had jerks solo ABOVE me while trad leading, including one weenie in Yosemite who soloed past me, got about 20' higher, then downclimbed the same dihedral that I'm in, saying, "Gosh, it's wet in the crack up there." No shit, dumbass - I bothered scope the route before roping up. If any of these wankers had fallen and hit my belayer, they had better have died or I would have finished them off in the most painful way I could construct on the spot.)
2) Think politically. If you splat in Yosemite, it's no big deal - people do it all the time and it isn't going to cause climbing to be banned there. Ask yourself - If you splat at your local crag, will it make things harder on your fellow climbers? Splatting on the Murray Property will make things harder on the RRGCC. Splatting on FS land will not help in future interactions with the FS or the State Park. Think through the implications of what you are doing!
Personally, I would rather that people solo very, very rarely - but, hey, it's your life and your call. I'm not saying "Don't Solo ever!" - Just think about the people around you when you choose when and where to solo.
2) Think politically. If you splat in Yosemite, it's no big deal - people do it all the time and it isn't going to cause climbing to be banned there. Ask yourself - If you splat at your local crag, will it make things harder on your fellow climbers? Splatting on the Murray Property will make things harder on the RRGCC. Splatting on FS land will not help in future interactions with the FS or the State Park. Think through the implications of what you are doing!
Personally, I would rather that people solo very, very rarely - but, hey, it's your life and your call. I'm not saying "Don't Solo ever!" - Just think about the people around you when you choose when and where to solo.
For pedantic purposes, replace 'selfish' with 'inconsiderate'
For instance, This morning I selfishly fed myself breakfast so that I would have energy for my day. I selfishly used my turn signal so that I would not suprise another drver, and possibly endanger myself.
Those are selfish actions.
Soloing at a crowded crag, or above somebody, or climbing through without asking are rude and inconsiderate, but selfish would not be the right word.
About a year ago I spent a day soloing easy stuff. It was more fun anything I have ever done. Unfortunatly I value my life too much to do it again. I think free soloing is something I'll do when I'm 75, in order to defray nursing home costs.
For instance, This morning I selfishly fed myself breakfast so that I would have energy for my day. I selfishly used my turn signal so that I would not suprise another drver, and possibly endanger myself.
Those are selfish actions.
Soloing at a crowded crag, or above somebody, or climbing through without asking are rude and inconsiderate, but selfish would not be the right word.
About a year ago I spent a day soloing easy stuff. It was more fun anything I have ever done. Unfortunatly I value my life too much to do it again. I think free soloing is something I'll do when I'm 75, in order to defray nursing home costs.
"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."